Recuperator



July 22, 1930.

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RECUPERATOR Filed June 26. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 wwaw'im mam Q, cawp $5Qlbtomuan u Mum JuZyZZ, 3-930. w. a. CHAPMAN RECUPERATOR Filed June 25,19.26 4 sheets sheat anoentoz $3 4.4 flbtomwu a Patented July 22, 1930UNITED PAT N ormacg,

WILLIAM .B. CHAPMAN, or JACKSON HEIGHTS, new Yonx, ASSIGNOR To rnacniir:

MAN-STEIN FURNACE C0.

or, MoUNTfviaRNoN, 01:10, A CORPORATIONOF onto J imcurnnnron Applicationfiled June 26, The invention aims to providea recuper ator whichshalloccupy less space, cost less: and be less likely to leak or requirerepairs, and be more eflicient than recuperators-now' in general. use. iOne object of the invention is-to so arrangethe passagewayswithin therecuperator between which heatinterchange is to-take place, that thearea available for such'hea-t. inter change will be relatively large ascompared to the volume. of the recuperator.

Another object is to providea construction in which, to a large extent,the; radiation losses, due to travel of the gasespast exposed ornon-heat interchangingsu-rfacesof the recuperator, willjbe avoided.;-i

From the structural standpoint, the invention also aims to provide'arecuperatormade 'up of simple elements, requiring a! minimum of specialshapes of ti-le or other parts. 7

Further objects and advantages at the.-; invention will be in partobviousand in -part particularly pointed out in the. descriptionhereinafter contained which,,taken in eonv juncton with. theaccompanying. drawing-s, discloses certain, preferred embodimentsthereof. Such embodiments, however, should be consideredas merelyillustrative of its principles. Inthe drawings Fig. 1 is a centrallongitudinal sectional. view of the recuperator constructed inaccordeance with the invention, the section. being taken on line 1 -l0f. Fig.'-2. v

Fig. 2 is a stepped transverse section of the recuperator shown in 1',-the'sec tion being taken'approximately on linez2w2. of Fig. l. i I

Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal sectionshowing enlarged adjacent" setsof tiles such as. may beemployedin the recuperator shown in Fig. 1. j vv i F ig. 4 is a perspective viewshowing, one ofsuch tiles described. vv I Fig. 5 is a perspective view showiirgd'etached a bafiiecap such asmay beemployed as a part of the recuperator shownlin Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a transversesectional' View of another form of recuperator,constructed? in 1926. Serial No. 118,782.

ing taken on line 6 6 of F ig. 7; v

F ig; 7 isa, central longitudinal" section of the recuperator shown inFig. 6.

Fi'gyS is a view similarto Fig l; butshow in a modifiedform- 0trecupcrator.

ecuperators are of first, those designedfor the air to be heated to beforced through them'by artificial draft and, second, those in which theair flowsv through by natural draft. The present. invention isapplicable to pe'rators. r

In accordance with one feature Qf-the invention the recuperator isprovided With-WWO series of passageways disposed transverselyto eachother, the partitions forming such passageways being so constructed!that the gases in following a sinuouspath through one series ofpassagewayaturn alternately in the central portion of the 'recupe-raltor and Fig. 1, for example, shows a recuperator Thus; the gases,-

7 oftheforced draft type, the air tobe heated beingfed in through a pipelito 1a distribut ing. chamber 2 disposed. at the top oi the recuperatorouter walls 3 and provided-With a suitable number of holes 4 leading: tothe. interior'ofthe recuperator. Thepipe L pref.- erahly is; tangentialto chamber 2,.thereby producinga whirl of air aroundthe chamber andcausing even flow of air through the recuperator. Theexhaust gasesWhich-supply the heat are led into the recuperatorat'hrough one or moreflues 5 leading to achamher. 6 locatedin the: base 7 of the recuperator,the flues 5 being also-preferably directed tan gentially to chamber 6,to obtain even dis tribution of the exhaust gases- One series ofpassageways is provided with a pluralityofpar-allel columns each I madeup of hollow tiles 8. In the present instance the" headiof-eachtile isprovided with seat-.9 (Fig. 3) upon which rests the bottom of the t raneewithitheinventiongthe were two generalf typesi,

both; types, of recu:

tile next above. I prefer to build the tiles in the simple cylindricalshape illustrated and they may be made of metal. or refractory material,according to the conditions of use. "in the present instance the hollowtiles 8 partition 011 the interior of the recuperator to form aplurality of vertical passageways 9 which accommodate the exhaust gases,such passageways being connected to the chamber Gtlirough openings 10 inthe base of the recuperator and delivering the exhaust gases, after theyhave given up their heat, to a gathering chamber 11, located at tie topof the recuperator.

The hollow tile columns above are so disposed within the outer Walls 3of the recuperator as to leave spaces in the central portion of therecuperator, and near its outer walls, through which the gasessurrounding the tiles may pass, and partitions transverse to such tilesare provided, which divide the spaces within the recuperator andexterior to the tiles, into a second series of parallel passageways 12transverse to and enclosing the passageways 9 above mentioned.

As shown in Fig. 1, these transverse parmentioned titions are made up inthe main of interfit ting flanges 13 on the heads of adjacent'tiles ofadjacent columns, a construction which I prefer since it reduces thenumber ofspecial parts necessary to be used in building the recuperatorand also reduces the weight. The hexagonal shape of recuperator, asshown in Fig. 2, is also preferred since it enables the adjacent columnsof tiles to beset rela tively close to each other, thus making therecuperator more compact. The shape ofthe tile flanges also preferablyconforms to that of the outer walls. The flanges 13 of the tiles arealso preferably provided with beveled sides 141 (Figs. 3 and 1), getherfairly loosely, whereby each column may move longitudinallyindependently of the others; this construction permits unequallongitudinal take place without disturbing tiles of adjacent columns orloosening up of the joints between the air and exhaust gas passageways,and without causing substantial leakage between adjacent passageways 12.The beveled sides 14 of the tile facilitate such trimming as may benecessary in building the recuperator and form receptacles between theassembled tiles, which collect dust and thereby seal the joints.

In the form of recuperator illustrated in Fig. 1, the air to be heatedpasses inwardly from inlet chamber 2 through the upper transversepassageway 12 to the center of the recuperator where the transversepartition is omitted to provide an opening 16 communicating with thetransverse passageway 12 next beneath. The blocks or brace'members 17extending inwardly from the outer Walls of the recuperator, engage theadjacent and match toexpansion and contraction toflanges 13 of the tilesto divide off the outer portion of the upper passageway 12, whereby theonly exit from this passageway is through opening 16 above mentioned.

The air to be heated next passes outwardly from the central portion ofthe second passageway 12 toward the outer walls of the recuperator, thecentral portion of the partition beneath this passageway being closed011 as by means of a suitable cap 18. Tile blocks or brace members 17associated with the partition underneath the second passageway 12 aresimilar to the blocks 17 above described, except that openings 19 areprovided therein which permit the air .(11011 it reaches the outerportion of the second pas sageway 12 to turn downwardly and pass intothethird passageway 12 next beneath. Adjacent passageways 12 are thusprovided alternately with central openings 1 16 and outer openings 19adjacent the outer walls 3' of the recuperator, whereby the air to beheated passes through the recuperator in a sinuous path, travelingalternately out from, and toward the central portion of therecuperator.From the bottomchamber 12 the heated; air passes into an annulargathering chamber 20 from which it may be led off through one or moresuitable lines 21.

It will be understood that if desired the exhaust gases may be ledthrough passageways 12 and the air to be heated through passageways 9,if desired, also that the direction of flow may be reversed.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 is similarto the recuperator above described, except that the flanges 13 of thetiles support separate par tition members 22 which may be in the form ofsector-like parts, as shown in Fig. 6, and suitably shaped toaccommodate the tiles.

' InFig. 8, I have illustrated a recuperator of the natural draft typewhich is similar to the one described in Figs. 6 and 7, except that theexhaust gases enter the tiles 8 from a distributing chamber 23 locatedat the top of the recuperator and pass downwardly to a gathering chamber2 1 located in its base. The air to be preheated enters the bottomtransversely of passageway 12 through an annular distributing chamberhaving openings 26 in its inner wall and passes upwardly through theseveral passageways 12 as above described, to an annular gatheringchamber 26 located at the top of the recuperator. When this type ofrecuperator is located below the level of the furnace it feeds no fan isrequired for the air, but a stack or other means is required to draw thespent gases downward.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the tile columns which would appear in the background,are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The recuperator is free to expand and contract in a vertical directiondue to the fact iii that the tile columns are not bonded to the outerwalls; in other words, the outer tile flanges for the partition membersmay slide within manufacturing limits, do not require special fittingoperations in building the recuperator or cause leaky joints. r

The outer wall 3 of the recuperator and its surrounding shell 27 arepreferably both constructedin sections, whereby in building therecuperator the interior parts may be assembled progressively up todifferent levels as the shell sections are installed. As shown, theshell sections 27 are bolted together at their flanges 28 to permit themto be detached when desired.

While certain specific embodiments of the invention have been described,it is obvious that many changes may be made therein with out departingfrom the spirit of the invention, as defined in the following claims. 1

I claim:

1. A recuperator having outer walls, a series of upstanding parallelhollow tile columns therewithin forming one series of passageways,adjacent tiles of said columns having flanges matching to formpartitions.

transverse to said columns, said flanges having sides shaped to formsealing receptacles.

2. A hollow recuperator tile having a hexagonal lateral flangeprojecting there from shaped to match together with, similar flanges toform a transverse partition, said flange having beveled sides. g

'3. A recuperator having onterwalls, a series of parallel hollow tilecolumns therewithin forming one series of passageways,

brace members extending from said walls to he outer tiles of saidcolumns at different levels which brace members alternately open andclose communication between the opposite sides thereof.

4:. A recuperator having outer walls, a series of upstanding parallelhollow tile columns therewithin, adjacent tiles having hexagonal flangesextending therefrom to provide lateral bracing for said columns, theouter walls conforming in shape to the cross section of the flanges.

5. A recuperator having outer walls, a series of parallel hollow tilecolumns there within forming one set of passageways, ad-

-- jacent tiles of adjacent columns having flanges matching to formpartitionstransverse to said columns, said flanges having beveled edgesto provide receptacles between adjacent flanges.

6. A recuperator having outer walls, partition members therewithinforming one series of parallel passageways running through therecuperator and a second series of passageways running transverse to thefirst series, adjacent passageways of said second mentioned series beingconnected alternately in the central portion of the recupera-, tor, andnear the outer walls thereof, together with chambers at the oppositeends of the recuperator communicating respectively with said series ofpassageways, and means for setting up a whirling motion of gasesentering said chambers to distribute the gases evenly between thecorresponding passageways.

7, A recuperator having a distributing chamber, a series of passagewayscommunicating therewith, and means for causing a whirling motion of thegases in said distributing chamber to apportion the same evenly betweensaid passageways.

8. The combination of claim 4, wherein said flanges also form a seriesof passageways running transverse to the passageways within the hollowtile columns, said transverse series of passageways being connectedalternately at the central portion of the recuperator, and near'theouter walls thereof.

9. The combination of claim 3 together with partitions transverse to thehollow tile columns, which partitions define passageways alternatelyconnected and closed ofl by the brace members, the passageways which areclosed off from each other by the brace members being connected at'thecentral portion of the recuperator.

10. The combination of claim 3 wherein the tiles of adjacent columns areprovided with flanges matching to form partitions extending transverselyof the columns and thereby providing a second series of passagewaystransverse to the passageways within

